


VII. The Chariot

by PostcardsfromTheoryland



Series: April Tarot Card Prompts [26]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Families of Choice, Garrison officers being dicks, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Season/Series 06, homecomings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PostcardsfromTheoryland/pseuds/PostcardsfromTheoryland
Summary: The Chariot: Success, willpower, victoryThe team comes home to Earth after their post-s6 roadtrip and Keith learns something about families.
Relationships: Adam & Keith & Shiro (Voltron)
Series: April Tarot Card Prompts [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686346
Comments: 10
Kudos: 91





	VII. The Chariot

“I still don’t see why we need to go to the Garrison first,” Lance grumbled. “We just saved the entire universe, and now we have to deal with Garrison officers? No thanks.”

“We can’t just, you know, show up in our obviously alien lions and touch down on earth wherever we want,” Hunk said.

“But Pidge’s dad already explained everything to the Garrison, we should be able to just, go home.”

“Right, but we still need to convince the Garrison into helping us rebuild the Castle of Lions,” Coran piped up. “No use making enemies now.”

“Besides, it’s common courtesy,” Shiro said. “When alien ships enter your atmosphere, you expect them to play nice and say ‘hi.’”

Keith knew he should participate in the discussion, but was mostly trying to tune everything out. Going back to Earth was a strange moment, more uncomfortable than he’d been expecting. The other paladins were understandably looking forward to being back with their families, and Allura, Romelle, and Coran were looking forward to seeing Earth and the culture they’d heard so much about secondhand. But Keith...something about Earth had never really felt like home to him, and his only family was already here. Well, there was also Adam, he supposed, but the last time they’d spoken to each other had been a horrible shouting match nearly a year before Shiro had escaped, and Keith wasn’t entirely sure how welcome he’d be there.

He’d been hoping that Krolia would have made the trip with them, but she’d detoured to meet back up with the Blade of Marmora and help keep the peace in a destabilizing Galra Empire after Lotor’s defeat. So it was just him now, him and Shiro and Kosmo. It just felt a little bittersweet, was all, to see the other paladins excited about going home and knowing he was probably going to need to stay in some spare dorm room at the Garrison.

They touched down in one of the Garrison hangars without a lot of fanfare, and it felt almost eerie to be walking through these hallways again. Their first few minutes with the Garrison higher-ups were fine: Pidge and her dad excitedly greeted one another again, and there were several other Garrison officers clearly very impressed to meet the Alteans, before they all shuffled into one of the briefing rooms for a discussion.

Keith recognized most of the Garrison officials. There was the Admiral, of course, and Iverson, along with Sablan who had taught engineering and Montgomery, one of the pilots. The others Keith had either not interacted or had been promoted to Commander after he left. Keith had to admit he was mostly ignoring the conversation; he had never been that great at diplomatic talks. But he couldn’t help but pay attention when the discussion took on a negative turn.

“So you want us to sit here and build a very expensive ship on the orders from some aliens and a bunch of undisciplined, washed out cadets?” Iverson asked, and Keith vaguely realized he was standing up, his chair knocked to the ground.

“No, ok? No, you don’t get to say that. _You_ weren’t the one up in space with us fighting a tyrannical 10,000-year-old empire. We are all goddamn heroes, every single fucking one of us, and absolutely no thanks to you. Hunk, the guy you dismissed as an engineer, learned how to fly like a pro and constantly kept all of our ships in good repair. Pidge, the little girl you barred from the premises for rightly thinking you were hiding something about the Kerberos Mission has saved us all countless times with her scientific and programming skills. Lance, who you constantly belittled for not being a good enough pilot by your standards, learned how to fly the most temperamental lion in our fleet and became the best fucking right hand man I could have asked for. And me? The guy you said would never amount to anything because I couldn’t keep my emotions in check after losing the only family I had? I stepped up to lead everyone and end the fucking war. So you can just fuck right off with that shit.”

Keith realized, half a second into that rant, that he probably shouldn’t have just cussed out one of the high-ranking officers of the military organization they were asking to help them build a giant Altean ship, but it was a little late to take it back.

“Shirogane, control these former cadets,” Sanda growled, but was cut off when Kosmo started growling right back.

“The Garrison strapped me to a table while I tried to tell you all Earth was in danger,” Shiro mentioned casually, resting his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I’m with Keith on this one; we’re ready to let bygones be bygones, but we expect to be treated with respect.”

“It is incredibly disappointing,” Allura added. “These people are quite literally the only reason the Earth is not in danger of a hostile alien attack, and you choose to treat them as misbehaving children. Commander Holt, perhaps we should take the plans from you now and get aid from a more _appreciative_ planet. Olkarion, I am sure, would be ready and able to assist us with much more dignity.”

It was a bluff - it would take them months to travel to Olkarion without a wormhole - but Iverson, Sablan, and Sanda didn’t know that.

“Let’s see if we can’t come to an agreement,” Commander Holt reasoned. “Paladins, Alteans, why don’t you return tomorrow after we’ve had a chance to discuss everything. I took the liberty of contacting your families when you radioed us that you were coming; they’re waiting for you in the second floor lounge.”

They all consciously chose not to salute as they filed out of the room, Kosmo giving one last warning growl on the way out.

“I, uh, sorry about that,” Keith said after the doors were shut. “I just didn’t want to listen to him talk about us like that.”

“Dude, if you hadn’t said it, I would have,” Lance assured him. “We just saved the whole universe and the Garrison wants to get all pissy and treat us like we’re lowly cadets again? Nuh-uh. And honestly? Thanks for saying all that stuff about us. It means a lot.”

“While it’s not ideal, we certainly could get assistance from the Olkari,” Coran suggested. “Perhaps even just Allura, Romelle and I could go in the Blue Lion while the rest of you stay on Earth.”

“We can discuss it more after we hear back from the Garrison,” Shiro said as they reached the lounge.

The door had barely opened before there was a cacophony of sound was pouring out. Keith recognized Lance and Hunk’s large families from their mindmeld days, and Colleen Holt and their dog. And then, off to one side and smiling sheepishly, was Adam.

That was good. Keith wasn’t sure exactly where Shiro and Adam stood, so it was a relief to see them have a chance to talk after all this time, and it wasn’t a chance that Keith wanted to interrupt.

“Keith, aren’t you going to go in?” Coran asked.

“I don’t...I don’t really…”

“You could show us around Earth,” Romelle said, mercifully leading the conversation away as she tucked her hand into his arm. “It would be nice to get a tour from a local.”

And yeah, ok, it wouldn’t exactly be like the homecomings for the others, but it would still be nice to have some company.

“Sure. What do you want to do first? There’s a diner pretty close by, we could get a bunch of real Earth food in giant portions.”

“That sounds perfect,” Allura said, taking Keith’s other side. They were almost to the stairwell before there was a voice shouting after them, and Keith turned to see Adam running down the hallway.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” he asked, yanking Keith in for a bone-crushing hug Keith was really not expecting.

“Uh. Betty’s?”

“You just got home and you’re going to a diner??”

“Well, yeah. Figured I’d show the Alteans around Earth while everyone else was busy with their family stuff.”

“And you didn’t think _you’d_ be busy with family stuff?” Adam asked, a meaningful glint in his eye.

“You still…? I said some, some really awful things to you.”

“You were a kid,” Adam replied. “A kid who was grieving and hurting, and I was an adult, and I shouldn’t have - Takashi told me you lived alone in a _shack_ , Keith.”

“I was-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Adam cut him off. “You’re here now. Please come home with me.“

“I didn’t want to intrude, if you and Shiro wanted…”

“It’s not an intrusion,” Adam promised. “The Garrison gave me a big sum of money after the Kerberos Mission, enough to buy a pretty nice house, and there’s a bedroom I always thought of as yours, but by that point you’d already disappeared, and I looked for you but I couldn’t... So, it won’t be an intrusion. Please come home,” he repeated.

Keith really did want to give Shiro and Adam a chance to reconnect alone, but he was only so strong. “Is there room for a couple more?” Keith asked, nodding his head toward the group of Alteans trying to be inconspicuous a few steps away.

“They’re welcome to come, too, and your...pet wolf?”

“His name is Kosmo!” Romelle said brightly.

“Right,” Adam said. “Kosmo the glowing blue wolf. You always did say you wanted a dog.”

Shiro joined them in the hallway, then, a bag of homemade cupcakes foisted onto him from Hunk’s mother, and they all squeezed themselves into Adam’s jeep. Adam and Shiro argued about what to make for dinner and whether Shiro and Keith are even allowed in the kitchen, and it would have almost been like they’d never left, if not for the group of aliens in the living room fascinated by Adam’s record collection and the blue space wolf begging for scraps at Adam’s side.

Keith really was home.


End file.
